KahelOS (050110)
I first took a look at KahelOS back in October 2009. There’s a new release out now so it’s time to look at it again.
KahelOS is essentially a remastered version of Arch Linux. Arch Linux has always had a reputation as being somewhat inaccessible to average desktop users, and KahelOS is an attempt to make Arch Linux more accessible to more people.
KahelOS also has a rolling release model, if you want the latest version you simply need to update your packages.
What’s New In This Release
Here’s some of what’s new in this release:
Compiz Fusion is enabled by default
Font cleanup and improvements
Improved hinting and rendering of fonts
Massive cleanup of unnecessary packages, saving disk space.
Massive optimization of PNG/MNG/TIFF/GIF packages.
New boot splash, background and theme.
Out-of-the-box easy file-sharing (just by right clicking the folder you wish to share)
Mabuhay Welcome Center w/ introduction of Kahel OS.
iBus is now the default alternative input bus
Include all possible Wifi Firmware by default
Include OpenJDK6 Java Development Kit by default
New Default Applications Installed:
Pitivi 0.13.4
Simple-Scan 0.9.9
Google Gadgets 0.11.2
Chromium 5.0.
Chromium supports WOFF (http://hacks.mozilla.org/2009/10/woff) and playing HTML5 videos without Flash (http://www.youtube.com/html5).
Gnome 2.30
Gnome Color Manager 2.30
Kernel 2.6.33
OpenOffice 2.3.0
Banshee 1.6.0
Tracker 0.8g
Tomboy notes
Gbrainy
Lights Off
The Mabuhay Welcome Center is a nice touch for those who are totally new to KahelOS. It contains screenshots and text that let new users know about KahelOS and what it has to offer. Topics mentioned include compiz-fusion, iBus, file-sharing, Google Gadgets, internationalization, and Chromium (among others). It’s well worth browsing the Mabuhay Welcome Center if you are new to KahelOS.
Speaking of Google Gadets, the Google Gadgets icon sits on the right side of the panel at the top of the screen. Clicking it gives you access to tons of different Google Gadgets including ones for Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. The Gadget Browser lets you search for Gadgets or pick from the following categories: News, Sports, Lifestyle, Tools, Finance, Fun and Games, Technology, Communication, Holidays.
KahelOS differs from many other distros in using Chromium as its default browser, rather than Firefox. Firefox is still available via gtkpacman if you want it. But Chromium is an excellent choice for a browser and, if you haven’t used it yet, you should definitely give it a chance before going back to Firefox.
The inclusion of the PiTiVi video editor is interesting since Canonical has also begun bundling it into its distros. It seems that PiTiVi is already becoming a mainstay application for GNOME-based distros. I’m glad to see it included with KahelOS because it definitely fills an important desktop niche for many people.
In my last review I barked about OpenOffice.org not being included by default. That mistake has been fixed and OpenOffice.org is now included with KahelOS. It’s ready to go as soon as you boot into your KahelOS desktop.
Kahel OS is an install-only distro, there is no Live CD functionality.
(7 votes, average: 2.43 out of 5)
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“I barked about it”… yes, that’s right. You bark, you don’t do proper reviews, you bark instead.
Hi Da dood,
Sorry that you don’t like my reviews.
I put a lot of work into them and I do my best to inform folks in each one. I understand though that you might prefer another site, no problem there. Different strokes for different folks.
[...] Complete Story [...]
Why does KahelOS only include version 2.3 of openoffice instead of 3.2?
Jim, fair shot at this review. I think one reason that this distribution scores as low as it does in your review is that your criteria is based on an intermediate level user at most, with preference toward the new Linux user. I would be truly surprised if the developers of this software are even targeting that type of audience. It is possible; they could, but the base Arch system is far from the average user. To me, this release is simply a convenience distribution for GNOME users and not much more. If I were a GNOME user, though, I would tend to like this distribution, because it is a way to slam a fast GNOME system onto your computer.
Over at the USALUG, Dave Crouse, the LUG owner, is a big Arch fan. He created a series of Arch Linux tips aimed at getting guys like me to give Arch a try, so I did, then I modified the tips and then Tim Miller made several really nice modifications. By running the collective scripts that we put together, you can install the ISO image of Arch in ten minutes or less, run one or two commands to bring up the Internet, grab the script of commands, and copy and paste them, and in minutes, have a complete system.
This system is nothing more than taking another environment, adding some nice graphics, a few scripts actually included in the ISO image, and getting on board with a nice Arch derivative in minutes. I think if we looked at whether it did that job well or not we’d get a better sense of if the developers did a good job with this or not. Comparing this up against the likes of Ubuntu or Kubuntu, I’d give this one a 1.5 if judging by that criteria, but perhaps a 3.5 or 4 when considering whether this software provides a fast, flexible, convenient developer centric system.
Nice review. After your first one I took a hard look at KahelOS and almost installed it. Especially after the drubbing they got on the Archlinux forums after they announced KahelOS, I felt some solidarity with the poor guys.
But I ended up going with Arch anyway. KahelOS is basically ARchlinux with a few cosmetic changes other than making Gnome the default DE. I think its a great idea and I’m rooting for them. I think they’ll go far. I may use them on some other machines I have to administer.
You are being pretty hard on them re the installer. Its basically the arch installer. Arch is targeted at the intermediate user or the newbie who is not afraid to carefully follow directions.
I’ve installed Arch now three times without any problems, just by following the instructions on the wiki. The Archlinux wiki is probably the best Linux documentation I have ever seen. Perhaps KahelOS should just point their users to it.
emk
As an Arch user I tried KahelOS out of curiosity some many months back, but was left unimpressed, although I don’t really remember why; I’m sure it’s improved since then though. Alternatively, a great option for an up-and-running Arch desktop (a really nice one at that) in no time is Archbang. I used it to get an Arch workstation going for work (was sick of only Win7.. had to have a nix box as well, especially for NOC support) and it’s really well done and I would recommend that for anyone looking for a quick attractive minimal Arch desktop(it’s openbox/tint) – However, I would be very interested in those scripts Brian was talking about. Brian are they available at the usalug forum? I’ll have to take a look…
LOL …Just another Ubuntu MOD …
KahelOS 111111 Release Notes http://labs.cre8tivetech.com/2011/12/kahelos-111111-release-notes/